The hallmark of a great university is the experience it offers its students and learners. Enhancing the student experience and ensuring exceptional undergraduate and graduate education will be a core goal of the University of Rochester’s emerging strategic plan. We aspire for the University of Rochester to have among the most extraordinary student experiences in the nation.
To this end, with the creation of a new Student Experience Team, we have already begun to build an even richer and more robust student experience at Rochester by intentionally coordinating and modestly changing the current roles of existing leaders in AS&E.
Jeff Runner will continue to serve as vice provost and university dean of undergraduate education and dean of the college. In this new structure, Jeff will report directly to me with a portfolio focused on student academics, including academic advising, career education, academic support programs, and related programs and organizations.
Beth Olivares will maintain most of her current responsibilities in her revised role. In this expanded position she will supervise certain key academic support programs in close collaboration with Jeff Runner and will work to support faculty-driven academic equity initiatives. Her new title of associate vice provost for academic equity reflects an expansion of her duties beyond AS&E, and she will report directly to the provost and the University’s chief diversity officer.
Rob Alexander will serve in an elevated role as vice provost and university dean of enrollment management. He will maintain his existing portfolio while working in close collaboration with other members of the student experience leadership team. He will also support other programs and units in enrollment management as needed.
Anne-Marie Algier has graciously agreed to serve as interim dean of students for the college, providing much needed support as Dean Matt Burns transitions to the next chapter of his career in late June. Many thanks to Matt for his long dedication to our students’ success.
I am grateful to Jeff, Beth, Rob, and Anne-Marie for their tireless commitment and look forward to working with them in these important new roles.
Finally, I am pleased to announce that we will soon launch the committee that will conduct a national search for the newly created position of vice president for student life. This new position will report directly to me and will be focused on providing a multidisciplinary approach to support student life and on centering leadership conversations about the student experience. Jane Gatewood, vice provost for global engagement, and herself a member of the Student Experience Team, will chair the search committee and work with the firm Storbeck Search to identify extraordinary candidates for this critical new role.
We will communicate more about the Student Experience Team once the vice president for student life search gets underway. Until then, I know you will share in my excitement and optimism in these measures to make the student experience at Rochester the best it can be. With your help, we will become a model for our peers and other institutions.
Meliora,
David
David Figlio (he/him)
Provost and Gordon Fyfe Professor of Economics and Education
University of Rochester